A life Shaped by Reading and Writing: My 60-Year Journey
I don’t remember exactly when I began to read seriously, but I do remember that by the age of fourteen, I had already started copying down passages from books into a notebook. I wasn’t preparing for exams or collecting quotes to impress anyone. I simply felt that certain lines had weight—something worth remembering—and I didn’t want to lose them. In those days, we didn’t have photocopiers or digital storage, so the only way to keep those words was to write them by hand.
That habit stayed with me.
As the years passed, I went from notebooks to typed pages, and eventually to computer files. I read widely—books on fiction, Scriptures, Literature, philosophy, religion, mythology, theology, culture, and history [both in Tamil and English, few in Hindi]. I rarely read books just to finish them. I read slowly, often stopping after just a paragraph or a single sentence, thinking about what it meant, how it connected with something else I had read or experienced. Over time, I began grouping these reflections and excerpts under topics. Now, after more than sixty years, I’ve gathered notes from over 200 books and arranged them under more than 300 topics.
This process of reading and collecting was never just about acquiring knowledge. It became a way of listening—sometimes to the author, sometimes to my own thoughts, and often, I believe, to something deeper than both. These weren’t academic notes. They were stepping stones in a personal journey.
Eventually, this led me to writing. I didn’t plan to become a writer. But when you keep reading, and reflecting, and living with questions long enough, something begins to form inside you that wants to be expressed. That’s how I ended up writing books like Understanding Hinduism (published by Motilal Banarsidass), Living Water and Indian Bowl (published by ISPCK and William Carey Library in the USA), and Living Dialogue, which is still in manuscript form. I’ve also written a short biography of my parents and am currently working on my autobiography.
Apart from articles and essays, one of the most personal forms of expression for me has been poetry. I’ve written more than 2,000 poems, all in Tamil. Many of them emerged from quiet moments—during walks, meditations, or even daily chores. Some are devotional, some are reflective, some wrestle with inner questions. With the help of tools like this one, I’m slowly translating some of them into English and Hindi, hoping they might speak to others too.
My days are simple, and I try to keep them balanced. I enjoy cross-stitch work, I cook daily, and I read and write almost every day—not because they are hobbies, but because they are part of my being. Reading and writing are not things I do when I have time. They are how I live.
Now, at the age of 74, I feel more clarity than ever before. Not in the sense of having figured everything out, but in recognizing what truly matters. I don’t regret that I’ve spent so much of my life with books and thoughts. I only wish I had more time and energy to give shape to all that I’ve gathered over the years.
With the help of this technology, I’m slowly doing that—bringing life to what I have long carried in silence. I know I cannot write everything I’ve dreamed of. But even if a few things reach others, and speak to them, I will be content.
This has been my quiet journey—not grand, not public, but faithful.
Ashram, July 1, 2025
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